Golf club and a grip for a golf club

ABSTRACT

Examples of a golf club with weight counter balance means are described. The golf club comprises a grip with a weight port and a weight load configured to be removably inserted and secured into the weight port and a club head that has a weight recess and a weight insert configured to be removably inserted and secured into the weight recess. The weight load in the grip and the weight insert in the club head are counterbalanced and predetermined to fit user&#39;s parameters such that a same club can be fitted for different user or same user after progressing his/her skills by changing the grip weight and the club head weight.

FIELD OF INVENTION

This invention relates generally to a golf club and a grip for the golfclub wherein the golf club can be fitted to different users or user'spreferences without changing the entire club.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

Unless otherwise indicated herein, the materials described in thissection are not prior art to the claims in this application and are notadmitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

In the game of golf, user uses a variety of clubs, e.g. drivers, fairwaywood, wedge, putters, etc. for performing different shots. In addition,there are different types (wood, iron, hybrid) and sizes of shafts anddifferent types/sizes of club heads, resulting in further increase invarieties of clubs derived from combinations of different heads andshafts. Accordingly, when a player purchases golf clubs set, it isdifficult for the player to select the most suitable equipment,especially the most suitable golf clubs set that is best suited tohimself/herself. Some golf clubs are produced with standardized clublengths and club angles that are marketed to a large population ofplayers, but that requires that each player adjust their more naturalswing and/or swing stance to accommodate the standard golf club. Someknown golf clubs may be custom-made to include predefined customizedclub lengths to suit a particular player. However, such customized clubsare typically made based on a player's current swing and swing stanceand are not able to accommodate changes in the player's swing as theskill and strength of the player changes over time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect a golf club is provided. The golf club comprises a shaftwith an upper (grip) end and a lower (tip) end, a club grip mounted onthe upper end of the shaft and a club head mounted on the lower end ofthe shaft. The club grip has a top end, a bottom end, a body with agripping face surface, a weight port formed in the body and a weightload that is removably inserted and secured into the weight port of theclub grip. The club head has a body, at least one weight recess formedin the body and a weight insert that is removably inserted and securedinto the weight port of the club head. The weight load in the club gripand the weight insert in the club head are counterbalanced andpredetermined to fit user's parameters such that a same club can befitted for different user or same user after progressing his/her skillsby changing the weight in the grip and the club head.

In another aspect, the golf club comprises distance control lines formedat the gripping face surface of the grip body for controlling a drivingdistance of a user's shot. The distance control lines are at least twoparallel circle lines formed around a circumference of the golf grip.The driving distance of the user's shot is controlled by changing aposition of a user's palm with respect to the distance control lines.

In one aspect, the at least two distance control lines are formed nearthe top end of the club grip forming a top distance control circle. Thegolf club further comprises a bottom distance control circle thatcomprises at least two parallel circle lines formed around acircumference near the bottom end of the club grip. The bottom circlelines are used for controlling the driving distance when the user uses awedge golf club.

In another aspect, the golf club comprises a direction alignment meansthat includes a first longitudinal line for a straight shots alignment,a second longitudinal line for a right to left directed shots and athird longitudinal line for a left to right directed shots. Each of thelongitudinal lines is parallel to the other and is aligned with respectto the club head. The first longitudinal line is positioned between andis equidistant from the second and the third longitudinal lines.

In one aspect, a golf club grip is provided. The golf club gripcomprises a top end, a bottom end, a body with a gripping face surfaceand distance control lines formed at the gripping face surface forcontrolling a driving distance of a user's shot. The distance controllines are at least two parallel circle lines, at pre-determined distanceone from another, and are formed around a circumference of the body. Thedriving distance of the user's shot is controlled by changing a positionof a user's palm with respect to the distance control lines.

In addition to the aspects and embodiments described above, furtheraspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to thedrawings and study of the following detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicatecorrespondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided toillustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure. Sizes and relative positions ofelements in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. Forexample, the shapes of various elements and angles are not drawn toscale, and some of these elements are arbitrarily enlarged andpositioned to improve drawing legibility.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional schematic side view of an example of a golfclub showing a club grip, a club shaft and a club head.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional side view of an example of a club gripshowing a weight port formed in the club grip and a weight load insertedin the weight port (upper view); and a cross-sectional view of threeexamples of weight load inserted into the weight port of the club grip(lower view).

FIG. 2B is a photo of a top side of a club grip showing an entranceopening of a weight port with no weight load into it (upper photo) and aweight load inserted into the weight port (lower photo).

FIG. 2C is a photo of a top side of a club grip showing an entranceopening and a threaded inner wall of a weight port and an example of aweight load.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of an example of a club grip showingdistance control lines and a direction alignment means.

FIG. 4A is a perspective view of an example of a club head showing aweight recess formed in a toe of the club head.

FIG. 4B is a photo of club heads with a weight recess drilled at a toeof the club heads.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

In order to improve the initial ball velocity and extend carry distance,a club head with increased weight can be provided. Heavier club head canincrease the kinetic energy of the head during the swing motion.However, this may result in increase of the moment of inertia of theclub and a “heavy” feel during the swing motion. In order to solve theproblem, the gravity center of the shaft needs to be shifted closer tothe club grip thus, counter-balancing the weight of the golf club. Thepresent invention discloses a golf club with an adjustablecounter-balanced weight, which can be easily adjusted and fitted to userparameters and preferences, such as for example, player's build,strength, and style.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a golf club 10 that comprises a clubshaft 12, a club head 14 and a club grip (handle) 16. The shaft 12comprises an elongated tubular body 13 having an inner wall 11 and anouter wall 15. The tubular body 13 extends between an upper end 17 and alower end 18 of the shaft 12. The upper end 17 can also be called a gripend while the lower end 18 is called a tip end. In one implementation,the shaft 12 can be a telescoping shaft with a variable length tofacilitate adjusting the overall length of the club shaft 12 based onthe height and stance of the player using the club 10. The shaft 12 canbe made from any desired and suitable materials, such as for exampleiron, iron alloy, wood, hybrid, etc. without departing from the scope ofthe invention. In one implementation, the shaft 12 can have an inset 9that can be bonded to the inner wall 11 of the shaft 12. The inset 9 canextend inwardly from the tip 18 so that the stiffness and flexibility ofthe shaft 12 can be adjusted by adjusting the length of the inset 9. Forexample, longer inset 9 will increase the stiffness of the shaft 12. Forexample, the inset can be a steel tube positioned near the tip end 18(adjacent to the inner wall 11) and can have length of between 8 cm to18 cm. Persons skilled in the art would understand that the length ofthe insert 9 can be less than 8 cm or more than 18 cm without departingfrom the scope of the invention.

The club grip 16 is mounted on the upper end 17 of the shaft 12. Thegrip 16 can be a wrap or sleeve forming a club handle that is gripped bya user when swinging the club 10. The grip 16 can have a top end 21, abottom end 22 and a body 19 extending between the top end 21 and thebottom end 22. The body 19 can be shaped and sized so that it can beeasy to grip and hold by the user. The body 19 has a gripping facesurface which is configured such that the user can hold and swing theclub without his/her hands slipping along the grip/handle 16. Forexample, the club grip 16 can come in different sizes, such as a small,a medium, a medium large and a large size. The grip 16 can be made of arubber, a leather, a synthetic leather, a plastic or any other suitablematerial. A weight port 20 can be formed in the club grip 16. The weightport can have an entrance opening 23 (see FIGS. 2A-2C) formed at the topend 21 and can extend along a longitudinal axis of the club grip 16 fromits top end 21 towards the bottom end 22. A size of the weight port 20can vary depending on the size of the grip 16, such as for example, thediameter or the length of the weight port 20 can be bigger or smallerdepending on the size of the club grip 16. The weight port 20 can beinternally-threaded (see FIG. 2C), so that a weight load 24 can beinserted and secured into the port 20 by threadedly engaging the weightport 20 (see FIG. 2A). FIG. 2A, upper view, shows the weight load 24inserted and secured into the weight port 20. In the illustratedexample, the weight load 24 is a screw that comprises a face 25 and athreaded body 26 however, persons skilled in the art would understandthat any other design of a weight load 24 can be used to adjust theweight of the club 10 at the grip side without departing from the scopeof the invention. The weight port 20 can be configured and sized so thata weight load 24 with a different mass can be fitted and securedtherein. For example, FIG. 2A, lower view, shows some examples of weightload 24 inserted into the same size weight port 20 of the club grip 16.The different weight load can be made of different materials, such asfor example stainless steel, aluminum, aluminum alloy or any othersuitable material so that the mass of the weight load 24 can be adjustedby choosing a heavier or lighter material. In addition, the length ofthe body 26 of the weight load 24 can vary, thus adjusting the mass ofthe weight load 24 by using weight load 24 with shorter or longer body26. The length of the weight port 20 can be configured so that weightloads 24 with different lengths can be inserted and secured in such port20. FIG. 2B, upper view, shows a photograph of the top end 21 of theclub grip 16 showing the entrance opening 23 of the weight port 20,while the lower view shows the top end 21 of the club grip 16 with theweight load 24 inserted and secured into the weight port 20. FIG. 2Cdepicts the top end 21 of the club grip 16 with the entrance opening 23of the weight port 20 and the weight load 24 with a face 25 and athreaded body 26. The club grip 16 can further include means to insertand remove the weight load 24 into and out of the port 20. For example,at least one slot 28 can be formed at the face 25 of the weight load 24so that a screw driver can screw the weight load 24 into the port 20 orunscrew it out of the port 20. Any other means can be used to insert andremove the weight load 24 into and out of the port 20 without departingfrom the scope of the invention. For example, a collapsible key or ring(not shown) formed at the face 25 of the load 24 can be used to screw orpush the weigh load 24 into or pull it out of the port 20. Any othermethod and means for removably inserting and securing the weight load 24into the weight port 20 can be used without departing from the scope ofthe invention. In one implementation, the weight port 20 can comprise atleast one groove (not shown) formed on the inner wall of the port 20. Insuch implementation, the weight load 24 can comprise at least one ledgeconfigured to fit within the at least one groove so that the weight load24 can frictionally slide into the port 20. Alternatively, a lock (notshown) can be provided to lock the weight load 24 into the port 20.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of the club grip 16. The grip 16 comprisesa distance control lines 30 and a direction alignment means 35 forcontrolling a driving distance and a direction of a user's shot. Thedistance control lines 30 and the direction alignment means 35 areformed at the face surface of the club grip 16. The distance controllines 30 can be at least two parallel circle lines 32. The circle lines32 can be formed around a circumference near the top end 21 of the grip16 such that the circle lines 32 can form a top distance control circle31. Each circle line 32 can represent, for example, 5-7 yards of drivingdistance. The at least two circle lines 32 can be at a predetermineddistance one from another. For example, the circle lines 32 can bepositioned at a 1/2 inch distance between lines. In the illustratedexample, a first circle line 32 a can be positioned around thecircumference of the grip in proximity to its top end 21 while the otherthree circle lines 32 b, 32 c and 32 d are at ½ inch distance one fromanother. A player can control the driving distance of his/her shot bysimply controlling the position of his/her hands/palms on the grip 16.For example, if the player position his/her palms such that the bottomof his/her palm (of the dominant hand) are on the first circle line 32a, the player will perform his/her long shot while if the bottom of thepalm are on the circle line 32 d (the line furthest away from the firstcircle line 32 a), the player will perform his/her shortest shot. Thetop distance control circle 31 can be used with any wood, iron orhybrid. The distance control lines 30 can further comprise at least twobottom circle lines 33 forming a bottom distance control circle 34 thatare formed around the circumference of the grip 16 near the bottom end22. The bottom circle lines 33 can be used for distance control whenusing wedges such as a pitching wedge, a sand wedge, a gap wedge, 52degree wedge, 56 degree wedge or 60 degree wedge, for example. Each ofthe circle lines 33 can be ½ inch distance one from another and theplayer can control the distance of his/her shot by simply control theposition of his/her palms on the grip 16 with respect to the circlelines 33. For example, if the player positions his/her palms such thatan edge line of his/her index finger (dominant hand) is aligned with thecircle line 33 closest to the bottom end 22, he/she will perform his/hershortest shot. By changing the position of the palms with respect to thecircle lines 32 and 33 of the distance control lines 30 the player mayadjust the distance for 5-7 yards (average yardage between twoneighboring lines 32/33).

The club grip 16 can also comprise a direction alignment means 35 thatinclude a first (middle) longitudinal line 36 for a straight shotalignment, a second longitudinal line 37 for a right to left directed(draw or hook) shot alignment and a third longitudinal line 38 for aleft to right directed (slice or fade) shot alignment. The longitudinallines 36-38 are parallel and can extend between the top circle lines 32and the bottom circle lines 33 of the grip 16. The alignment lines 36-38are aligned with respect to the head 14 such that when the club head 14is on ground (a ground line) there is a visual alignment of thedirection alignment means 35 and the head 14.

The first longitudinal line 36 is positioned between and equidistantfrom the second and the third longitudinal lines 37, 38. The player cancontrol the direction of his/her shot by simply controlling the positionof his/her hands with respect to the longitudinal lines 36-38. Forexample, when the position of a “V-part” (place between thumb and indexfinger) of a dominant hand is aligned with the longitudinal line 37 theplayer will direct his/her shot from right to left, while by aligningthe V-part with the longitudinal line 38 the golf ball will fly fromleft to right direction. For straight shots, the player needs to alignthe V-part of his/her dominant hand with the longitudinal line 36.

The golf club head 14 is mounted on the tip end 18 of the shaft 12. FIG.4A illustrates an example of the club head 14 of the present invention.The club head 14 includes a body 40, and a hole 42 into which the shaft12 is secured. The hole 42 can be centrally positioned with respect tothe body 40 in case of a center shafted club head 14 or the hole 42 canbe positioned at a heel of the club head 14 for a heel-shafted club head(as in the case of the club head 14 of FIG. 4A). The club head 14 can bemade from any desired materials, such as for example, metals, metalalloys, wood and the like, depending on the type and size of the clubhead. A hosel (not shown) can be coupled between the club shaft 12 andthe club head 14 to facilitate adjusting the orientation of the clubhead 14 with respect to the club shaft 12.

The club head 14 can further include a recess 44 that is sized andshaped to receive a weight insert 46 therein. For example, the weightinsert 46 can have similar design as the weight load 24 of the grip 16.Accordingly, the weight insert 46 can also be a screw with a threadedbody and can be designed in different weights. The internal wall of therecess 44 can be threaded so that the weight insert 46 can be screwedinto the recess 44 as described herein above with respect to the weightport 20 of the club grip 16. In one implementation, the weight recess 44and the insert 46 can have different design than the weight port 20 andweight load 24 of the grip 16. By changing the weight of the weightinsert 46 one can adjust the weight of the club head 14. In case of theheel shafted club head 14, there is only one recess 44 that extends froma toe of the club head 14 towards its heel, so that the weight insert 46is added only on the toe side of the club head 14. In case of acenter-shafted club head 14, there can be two recesses 44 on both thetoe side and the heel side and a weight insert 46 can be inserted andsecured in both recesses 44. The weight of the golf club 10 can becounterbalanced and adjusted by adjusting the weight load 24 in the clubgrip 16 and the weight insert 46 in the club head 14, so that a samegolf club can be fitted to different user or user preferences withoutchanging the entire golf club 10.

FIG. 4B shows an example of the iron club head 14 in which the recess 44is drilled from a toe across a sole of the club head 14. As can be seenthe weight recess 44 has an entrance 48 (at the toe) so that the weightinsert 46 can be inserted into the recess 44. The internal wall of therecess may not be threaded and the weight insert 46 can by frictionallyfitted into the recess 44. Means for inserting and removing the weightinsert 46 from the recess 44 are also provided that can have same orsimilar design as the one described with respect to the club grip 16.Any other suitable means for inserting, securing, removing and/orlocking the insert 46 into (and out) of the recess 44 can be usedwithout departing from the scope of the invention.

While particular elements, embodiments and applications of the presentdisclosure have been shown and described, it will be understood, thatthe scope of the disclosure is not limited thereto, since modificationscan be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scopeof the present disclosure, particularly in light of the foregoingteachings. Thus, for example, in any method or process disclosed herein,the acts or operations making up the method/process may be performed inany suitable sequence and are not necessarily limited to any particulardisclosed sequence. Elements and components can be configured orarranged differently, combined, and/or eliminated in variousembodiments. The various features and processes described above may beused independently of one another, or may be combined in various ways.All possible combinations and subcombinations are intended to fallwithin the scope of this disclosure. Reference throughout thisdisclosure to “some embodiments,” “an embodiment,” or the like, meansthat a particular feature, structure, step, process, or characteristicdescribed in connection with the embodiment is included in at least oneembodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in some embodiments,” “inan embodiment,” or the like, throughout this disclosure are notnecessarily all referring to the same embodiment and may refer to one ormore of the same or different embodiments.

Various aspects and advantages of the embodiments have been describedwhere appropriate. It is to be understood that not necessarily all suchaspects or advantages may be achieved in accordance with any particularembodiment. Thus, for example, it should be recognized that the variousembodiments may be carried out in a manner that achieves or optimizesone advantage or group of advantages as taught herein withoutnecessarily achieving other aspects or advantages as may be taught orsuggested herein.

Conditional language used herein, such as, among others, “can,” “could,”“might,” “may,” “e.g.,” and the like, unless specifically statedotherwise, or otherwise understood within the context as used, isgenerally intended to convey that certain embodiments include, whileother embodiments do not include, certain features, elements and/orsteps. Thus, such conditional language is not generally intended toimply that features, elements and/or steps are in any way required forone or more embodiments or that one or more embodiments necessarilyinclude logic for deciding, with or without operator input or prompting,whether these features, elements and/or steps are included or are to beperformed in any particular embodiment. No single feature or group offeatures is required for or indispensable to any particular embodiment.The terms “comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like aresynonymous and are used inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and donot exclude additional elements, features, acts, operations, and soforth. Also, the term “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not inits exclusive sense) so that when used, for example, to connect a listof elements, the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements inthe list.

The example calculations, simulations, results, graphs, values, andparameters of the embodiments described herein are intended toillustrate and not to limit the disclosed embodiments. Other embodimentscan be configured and/or operated differently than the illustrativeexamples described herein.

1. A golf club comprising: a shaft having an upper end and a lower end;a club grip configured to be mounted on the upper end of the shaft, theclub grip having a top end, a bottom end, a body having a gripping facesurface and extending between the top end and the bottom end, a weightport formed in the body and a weight load configured to be removablyinserted and secured into the weight port; and a club head mounted onthe lower end of the shaft and having a body, at least one weight recessformed in the body of the club head and a weight insert configured to beremovably inserted and secured into the at least one weight recess,wherein the weight load in the club grip and the weight insert in theclub head are counterbalanced and predetermined to fit user'sparameters.
 2. The golf club of claim 1 further comprising an insetinserted into the shaft and adjacent to an inner wall of the shaftextending inwardly away from the lower end of the shaft, the insethaving a pre-determined length to adjust a stiffness of the shaft. 3.The golf club of claim 1, wherein the weight port has an entranceopening formed at the top end of the club grip, the weight portextending along a longitudinal axis of the club grip from its top endtoward its bottom end.
 4. The golf club of claim 3, wherein the weightport is internally threaded and the weight load has a threaded body forthreadedly engaging the weight port.
 5. The golf club of claim 1,wherein the weight port is sized such that a weight load with differentweights can be fitted into the weight port.
 6. The golf club of claim 1further comprising distance control lines formed at the gripping facesurface of the grip body for controlling a driving distance of a user'sshot, the distance control lines including at least two parallel circlelines formed around a circumference of the golf grip, the at least twocircle lines being at a predetermined distance one from another, whereinthe driving distance of the user's shot is controlled by controlling aposition of a user's palm with respect to the at least two distancecontrol lines.
 7. The golf club of claim 6, wherein the at least twoparallel circle lines being formed near the top end of the club gripforming a top distance control circle.
 8. The golf club of claim 6further comprising a bottom distance control circle comprising at leasttwo parallel bottom circle lines formed around the circumference nearthe bottom end of the grip, the bottom circle lines being at apredetermined distance one from another, wherein the bottom circle linesbeing used for controlling the driving distance when a user uses a wedgegolf club.
 9. The golf club of claim 1 further comprising a directionalignment means comprising a first longitudinal line for a straightshots alignment, a second longitudinal line for a right to left directedshots and a third longitudinal line for a left to right directed shots,each of the longitudinal lines being parallel to each other, the firstlongitudinal line being positioned between and equidistant from thesecond and the third longitudinal lines, the longitudinal lines beingformed at the face surface of the club grip and aligned with respect tothe club head.
 10. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the weight recessin the club head having an entrance opening formed at a toe of the clubhead and extending from the toe toward a heel of the club head.
 11. Thegolf club of claim 1, wherein the weight recess is internally threadedand the weight insert has a threaded body for threadedly engaging theweight recess.
 12. The golf club of claim 1, wherein the weight recessis sized such that a weight insert with different weights can be fittedinto the weight recess of the club head.
 13. A golf club grip configuredto be mounted on a club shaft to form a handle of a golf club, the golfclub grip comprising: a top end; a bottom end; a body having a grippingface surface and extending between the top end and the bottom end forgolf club; and distance control lines formed at the gripping facesurface for controlling a driving distance of a user's shot, thedistance control lines including at least two parallel circle linesformed around a circumference of the body, the at least two circle linesbeing at a predetermined distance one from another, wherein the drivingdistance of the user's shot is controlled by controlling a position of auser's palm with respect to the distance control lines.
 14. The golfclub grip of claim 13, wherein the at least two parallel circle linesbeing formed near the top end of the club grip forming a top distancecontrol circle.
 15. The golf club grip of claim 14, further comprising abottom distance control circle comprising at least two parallel bottomcircle lines formed around the circumference near the bottom end of theclub grip, the bottom circle lines being at a predetermined distance onefrom another, wherein the bottom circle lines being used for controllingthe driving distance when a user uses a wedge golf club.
 16. The golfclub grip of claim 13, wherein the at least two parallel circle linesbeing formed near the bottom end of the club grip forming a bottomdistance control circle.
 17. The golf club grip of claim 13 furthercomprising a direction alignment means formed at the gripping facesurface of the body and comprising a first longitudinal line for astraight shots alignment, a second longitudinal line for a right to leftdirected shots and a third longitudinal line for a left to rightdirected shots, each of the longitudinal lines being parallel to eachother, the first longitudinal line being positioned between andequidistant from the second and the third longitudinal lines.
 18. Thegolf club grip of claim 13 further comprising a weight port formed inthe body and a weight load configured to be removably inserted andsecured into the weight port.
 19. The golf club grip of claim 18,wherein the weight port has an entrance opening formed at the top end ofthe grip, the weight port extending along a longitudinal axis of thegolf club grip from its top end toward its bottom end.
 20. The golf clubgrip of claim 18, wherein the weight port is sized such that a weightload with different weights can be inserted and secured into the weightport.